Garda Rally Team - Clare Stages Rally preview

Just two rounds now remain to be completed in the 2000 Dunlop National
Rally Championship. The penultimate event is the Tom Hogan Motors
Clare Stages Rally, which will take place on September 3rd. The Garda
Rally Team crew of Donal O'Donovan and...

Just two rounds now remain to be completed in the 2000 Dunlop National
Rally Championship. The penultimate event is the Tom Hogan Motors
Clare Stages Rally, which will take place on September 3rd. The Garda
Rally Team crew of Donal O'Donovan and Pat Lordan are heading to the
Ennis-based event in a positive frame of mind, following a string of
good results in the preceding three rounds.

The eircom net / Oki Systems Toyota Celica brought O'Donovan and Lordan
to second place on the most recent event in the National series, the
Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally. They claimed maximum Championship points,
as the rally winner, Frank Meagher, was not registered, and the result
promoted them to fifth in the overall standings. Indeed, the Tipperary
result, allied to second place finishes on the two previous rounds, the
Circuit of Munster and Sligo Rallies, has seen the Garda Rally Team crew
jump nine places up the Championship leaderboard.

Despite the recent successes, O'Donovan sees fourth position in the
2000 Championship as the most realistic goal. He commented: "Obviously,
either Niall Maguire or Paul Harris will win overall, and Tim McNulty is
safe enough in third, once he finishes the last two events in or around
the top five. Patrick Elliot is five points ahead of us on the board,
but he has scored in all eight events so far, and he must start dropping
his worst scores from now on. Denis Cronin is only one point behind
us, and George Cullen isn't too far away either. It's going to be very
close."

The Clare Stages Rally is based in the West Country Hotel near
Ennis. All the regular National Championship contenders will be in
attendance, and they will be joined by Tarmac Championship regulars,
Austin McHale and Eamonn Boland. McHale is the No.1 seed in his Toyota
Corolla WRC (which also sports the colours of eircom net), while Boland
brings his new Subaru Impreza WRC99/2000.

Follow the progress of the Garda Rally Team at www.rallyteamireland.com.